# 119-hr-8524: Kenya Merritt Renewing our PACT Act of 2026

119-hr-8524, Kenya Merritt Renewing our PACT Act of 2026, is a 119th Congress bill sponsored by Rep. Pou, Nellie [D-NJ-9] (D-NJ); status introduced; PRIA reads it as touching household money (as of 2026-09-21).

- Canonical: https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8524
- As of: 2026-09-21
- Plain-text twin of the page above; the HTML and this file carry the same facts.

## Facts
- Bill: 119-hr-8524
- Congress: 119
- Title: Kenya Merritt Renewing our PACT Act of 2026
- Status: introduced
- Introduced: 2026-04-27
- Sponsor: Rep. Pou, Nellie [D-NJ-9] (D-NJ)
- Cosponsors: 3
- Policy area: Government Operations and Politics
- Touches household money: yes
- Last recorded action: 2026-09-21

## Summary

**A new presumption that certain diseases in civilian federal employees were caused by toxic burn-pit exposure during contingency operations**. The bill ties the covered conditions to the Department of Veterans Affairs list and creates a process for adding new diseases.

## Cosponsors (3)

- Rep. Fitzpatrick, Brian K. [R-PA-1] (R-PA), 2026-04-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. Maloy, Celeste [R-UT-2] (R-UT), 2026-04-27T00:00:00.000Z
- Rep. LaLota, Nick [R-NY-1] (R-NY), 2026-07-20T00:00:00.000Z

## Provisions PRIA read

- Burn pit benefits for federal employees: mixed, medium. If enacted, the bill would create a presumption that certain listed diseases were caused by your federal job when you file a compensation claim on or after the date of enactment. You would qualify if you work for one of the listed federal departments, an element of the intelligence community, or ar…

## Related bills

- 119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2548: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1065: Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025
- 119-hr-1422: Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025
- 119-hr-2102: Major Richard Star Act
- 119-hr-1329: Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Act

## Sources
- [119-hr-8524 on Congress.gov](https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/8524)

## Related
- [119-hr-3151: SHIPS for America Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-3151)
- [119-hr-2548: Sanctioning Russia Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2548)
- [119-hr-1065: Protect Our Letter Carriers Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1065)
- [119-hr-1422: Enhanced Iran Sanctions Act of 2025](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1422)
- [119-hr-2102: Major Richard Star Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-2102)
- [119-hr-1329: Smithsonian American Women’s History Museum Act](https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-1329)
- [All bills in Congress](https://policyrisk.com/legislation)

Source: PRIA, https://policyrisk.com/legislation/119-hr-8524 (as of 2026-09-21).